In biomedical technology there is a requirement for solid matters to be dissolved in a solvent. Such solid matters are for example reagents that are stored as a dry mixture with negligible vapor pressure and form a stable substance at room temperature. Only when needed are they dissolved for the intended use in analysis.
A device of this type is described for example in WO 02/072262 A1. In particular, an analysis device in which dry reagents are stored as solid matters and when needed are dissolved in a solvent is formed there as an easy-to-handle chip card.
If the actual intended use of the dry reagents is preceded by rinsing steps and other measures, it is required that dissolving of the solid matter which is soluble in the solvent is initially prevented and that the solution of a precisely defined composition and quantity to be set is only produced when it is needed. This is the case in particular with the PCR reaction (Polymerase Chain Reaction), in which the PCR reagent initially has to be protected in the reaction chamber and is only to be released after the DNA has been supplied, concentrated and purified.
In the case of the analysis device according to WO 02/072262 A1, for use in biochemical analysis the dry reagents present in the chip card can be stored already in a pre-measured and pre-portioned form for the analysis. In this case, a solution with a precisely defined amount of reagent is produced in conjunction with a solvent from a prepared reservoir of the pre-portioned reagents. Furthermore, EP 0 434 742 B1 discloses a disposable detector arrangement for real-time liquid analysis in which a liquid sample is automatically analyzed by use of a disposable sensor and the associated measured values are output. The important aspect here is that the analysis reagent is kept ready as a liquid.
For medical applications, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,572,323 A and 1,603,877 also disclose sample containers which contain a liquid in a closed system and, initially separate from it, reagents. The solid reagents can be dissolved in the liquid by suitable measures. Furthermore, US 2002/0187560 A1 discloses a microfluidic device which is suitable for combining discrete volumes of liquid with one another in channels and supplying them to a sample chamber. In this case, the actuation of these microfluidic devices may take place pneumatically or magnetically. Furthermore, US 2004/0171170 A1, which is not a prior publication, discloses a device with a multiplicity of cavities of which two types of cavities respectively can be charged in parallel with volumes of liquid. Thus, individual microcavities are respectively connected separately via fluid channels to a liquid reservoir.
On the basis of the latter prior art, the object of the invention is to propose a method by which especially solid matters can be brought specifically into solution, and to specify associated uses. Furthermore, an associated arrangement is to be provided.